Food Day is being celebrated across the country on Monday, Oct 24. Over 1,800 grassroots events have been planned to celebrate the day, including more than 25 in Connecticut.

Think of Food Day as Earth Day for Food. It’s a day for all members of our communities to come together to bring awareness to and spark ongoing dialog about issues surrounding food production and consumption in this country. It’s also an opportunity to learn how to make food choices that promote good health and are kind to the environment, farm workers, and animals.

Anyone who wants to observe Food Day can attend organized events in schools, libraries, nature centers, supermarkets, restaurants, art galleries, theaters and more throughout Connecticut, including:

• Film screenings & discussions
• Potluck and fundraiser dinners
• Cooking demonstrations and competitions
• Food drives with matching donations
• Workshops with sustainable food professionals

To find a scheduled Food Day event near you, visit www.FoodDay.org, and search by town or zip code.

I am excited to be organizing Food Day events on Monday in both Greenwich and Fairfield in partnership with Slow Food Metro North, a local chapter of Slow Food USA, a national Food Day partnering organization. Amy Kalafa and John Turenne, two nationally recognized sustainable food experts, will present “Overcoming Obstacles to Improving School Food”, a high-impact workshop that teaches successful approaches for overcoming obstacles to making school meals more healthful and sustainable.

John Turenne and Amy Kalafa are well versed in the challenges confronted by better school food advocates.  Amy is the author of Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health, and the producer/director of the acclaimed documentary film Two Angry Moms: Fighting for the Health of America’s Children. Lunch Wars is an invaluable handbook for better school food advocates and attendees can obtain a signed copy at these events. John Turenne, founder & President of Sustainable Food Systems of Wallingford, is a nationally recognized leader and innovator in sustainable food practices. Formerly Executive Chef at Yale University, he worked to create the Yale Sustainable Food Project and more recently led the behind-the-scenes team that made Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” work in the Huntington, West Virginia school system. http://angrymoms.org/, http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com/.

“Overcoming Obstacles to Improving School Food” is designed for all stakeholders in our children’s health and wellness- whether parents, administrators, food service professionals or public health officials. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

If you can’t attend an event, create your own Food Day event at home by eating real food. Real food is kind to the earth, animals and people and good for you. Visit a local farm stand or farmers’ market and take home nature’s bounty to prepare a nutritious meal that supports our community of farms. Take a family trip this weekend to an orchard for a memorable pick-your-own experience. While we don’t have organic orchards in CT, we do have family-owned operations using IPM (Integrated Pest Management) practices, which favor low impact ways to manage pests and plant diseases. Bishops Orchards in Guilford, Drazen Orchards in Cheshire, and High Hill Orchard in Meriden are among the local IPM orchards offering a pick-your-own experience.

6 Principles of Food Day (from the Food Day website)

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness
3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

Food Day is a project of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest with over 100 national organizations as partners including Slow Food USA. Everyone is welcome to participate. www.FoodDay.org

In Celebration of

Fairfield Green Food Guide & Slow Food Metro North Present:

Overcoming Obstacles to Improving School Food

With Nationally Recognized Experts Amy Kalafa and John Turenne

Join nationally recognized experts Amy Kalafa, author of Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health, and John Turenne, Founder & President of Sustainable Food Systems, for a high impact workshop that teaches attendees successful approaches for overcoming common obstacles to making school meals more healthful and sustainable. This workshop is designed for all stakeholders in our children’s health and wellness.

“We really cannot rely on the federal government to fix school food; the government provides a baseline and it is up to each individual school district to determine the quality of each school’s food environment. This is a grassroots issue and there are any number of local solutions. The solutions are found when members of the school community start paying attention and taking action.” – Amy Kalafa

“As long as school food is provided limited funding, cost will always be a factor.  However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t simple ways to overcome inadequate  food.  We can start by step by step substituting real, whole and fresh ingredients for processed.” – John Turenne

Choose from Two Sessions:

Greenwich at Audubon Greenwich, 12:00 noon-1:00 pm. $10 admission includes a Slow Food Metro North $5 Challenge lunch catered by Concierge Foods of Bedford Hills. RSVP required.

Fairfield at Pequot Library, 7:00-8:00 pm. $10 admission includes light refreshments. RSVP required.

Both events will be followed by a Q&A session and book sale and signing.

To RSVP:

Greenwich only:

Tickets must be purchased online in advance so we can obtain an accurate lunch count. This is a working lunch. Vegetarian and vegan lunch options are available. Walk-ins cannot be guaranteed a seat or lunch. Click here to register and pay online by October 23.

Admission: $10 per person fee includes a  local farm-to-fork lunch which celebrates Slow Food Metro North’s $5 Challenge.

Time: 12:00 noon until 1:00, followed by a Q&A session, book sale and signing of Lunch Wars, and networking.

Important: Kindly arrive at 11:45 to register, pick up your lunch and beverage and be seated. This is a working lunch.

Location: Audubon Greenwich, 613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, CT. Please call event organizer Analiese Paik at 203.520.3451 with any questions.

Fairfield only:

Admission: $10 per person fee includes the workshop and light refreshments.Click here to register and pay online by October 23.

Time: 7:00 to 8:00 pm, followed by a Q&A session, book sale and signing of Lunch Wars, and networking.

Important: Kindly arrive at 6:45 to register and be seated.

Location: Pequot Library, 720 Pequot Avenue, Southport, CT. Please call event organizer Analiese Paik at 203.520.3451 with any questions.

This event is organized by Fairfield Green Food Guide, LLC and Slow Food Metro North and made possible through the generous support of Audubon Greenwich, Pequot Library and Concierge Foods.

About Our Guest Presenters:

Amy Kalafa

Amy Kalafa has produced award-winning films and television programs, and has written magazine articles related to health education for more than twenty-five years. The producer/director of the acclaimed documentary film Two Angry Moms: Fighting for the Health of America’s Children, she has been featured on Good Morning America, Rachael Ray, and Fox News Live, and in USA Today and The New York Times. Kalafa lives with her family in Weston, Connecticut. http://angrymoms.org/

LUNCH WARS: How to Start A School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health (Tarcher/Penguin, August 2011) not only exposes the scary, hidden truth behind school lunches, but also gives parents the tools to do something about it. After author Amy Kalafa produced and directed the acclaimed documentary, Two Angry Moms, she was flooded with questions from parents who saw the film and wanted to know how to rid their own children’s schools of unhealthy—and sometimes dangerous—food. LUNCH WARS is Kalafa’s definitive response and an all-inclusive guide to help parents stage their own cafeteria coup.

LUNCH WARS is an invaluable reference. From First Lady Michelle Obama and her Let’s Move! campaign against childhood obesity to the average parent who’s struggling to instill good habits in their children, every American family has a stake in the book’s message. The next—and most crucial—step is to learn what LUNCH WARS teaches and integrate it into every school in America, on every day of the year.

John Turenne

John Turenne, founder and President of Sustainable Food Systems, is a nationally recognized leader and innovator in sustainable food practices. In his role as Executive Chef at Yale University and in the creation of the Yale Sustainable Food Project, John recognized the impact of food service decision-making on the world around us. His consulting company is on the cutting edge in developing best-practices tailored to benefit both the planet and the bottom line for clients. Turenne led the behind-the-scenes team that made Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” work in the Huntington, West Virginia school system.

John and his team at Sustainable Food Systems have worked with visionaries across the country who have had the desire to make positive changes to the way they do business. Sustainable Food Systems brings those ideas and desires to reality through careful assessment, planning, teaching and development.

Sustainable Food Systems’ client list includes The Culinary Institute of America; Yale University; Harvard Medical School; The East Harlem School; Jamie Oliver Ltd.; Cabell County, WV Public Schools;  St. Lukes Wood River Medical Center as well as multiple other public hospital and school systems.

John Turenne and Sustainable Food Systems were also instrumental in working with the Obama Administration in the development of the USDA’s Chefs Move to Schools initiative and continue to harvest national and international recognition. http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com/

Resources:

Amy Kalafa: http://angrymoms.org/, http://www.tarcherbooks.net/?tag=lunch-wars

John Turenne: http://www.sustainablefoodsystems.com/

Fairfield Green Food Guide: http://fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com/

Slow Food Metro North: http://slowfoodmetronorth.org/

Food Day: http://foodday.org/

What is Food Day?

Aimed at promoting healthy, sustainable, affordable, and just food systems in America, Food Day is a national grassroots mobilization backed by some of the most prominent voices for energizing the food movement. On October 24, 2011, people will gather at events big and small and from coast to coast in homes, schools, colleges, churches, city halls, farmers’ markets, supermarkets, and elsewhere to raise awareness about food issues and advocate for change. Think of it as an Earth Day for food!

Spearheaded by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Day is organized around six main policy goals:

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods

2. Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness

3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger

4. Protect the environment and animals by reforming factory farms

5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids

6. Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers

Who is partnering with Food Day?

Food Day’s advisory board is co-chaired by Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and includes such members as Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, Marion Nestle, David Kessler, and Professor Walter Willett. Partners include the American Dietetic Association, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, UNITE Here, Humane Society of the U.S., Sierra Club, and Slow Food USA. A full list of advisors and partner organizations can be found at www.FoodDay.org.

By Eileen Weber

They say hard work pays off. And for parent volunteers in Fairfield Public Schools, that old adage couldn’t be more true. Years of painstakingly coordinating a garden program as an outdoor classroom have culminated in a $5,000 grant funded by the Fairfield County Community Foundation. The grant, which was written and submitted by the 2009-2011 PTA Council Health, Safety & Fitness Committee chair Anne Tack-Eckel, provides enough gardening books for every grade level in the entire school district.

What makes this such a breakthrough is finally getting the recognition that a garden is a viable teaching tool. For years, parents have been wading through red tape and political strife all for the sake of one ideology: Eat what you grow.

“It’s time to wake up,” said Annelise McCay, who kick-started the garden initiative at Roger Sherman Elementary School in 2006. “It’s about awareness for these kids. They may not understand it now, but [working in the garden] is a lesson learned that will stay with them.”

McCay, coined the “Alice Waters” of Fairfield, went on to say that the garden initiative stemmed from so many parents who were appalled at what was being considered “lunch” in the cafeterias. It became clear that too many of our children were not making the connection between what we eat and how it grows.

“That was the motivation behind it—healthier eating,” said McCay. “When you’re feeding kids chicken fingers and French fries, you’re telling kids that’s what they should eat. Why does it have to be poorer quality food for a kids’ menu?”

Anne Tack-Eckel agreed with McCay. For her, it started when her youngest child was in Kindergarten. She visited the school often for lunch and was disgusted with what was offered. Since then, she has seen a huge change in the type of offerings that not only the school has provided but that kids are happily choosing to put on their plates. She feels strongly that the garden initiative was the catalyst for that change.

“The foods were highly processed, high in fat, with chemicals,” said Tack-Eckel. “But the changes in the school lunch have been miraculous. I think people don’t realize how important a kid’s lunch is. What they eat is important.”

She pointed out that the school year lasts 180 days. That’s half a year of a child’s life consisting of bad food. Today, almost every single school in the district has a garden that is being used within the curriculum. In some cases, the schools have implemented the garden produce in the cafeteria.

“Kids who participate are more likely to try fruits and vegetables,” said Michelle McCabe, chairperson of the PTA Council Fuel for Learning Partnership, an organization that advocates school lunch nutrition, “There’s a sense of ownership in growing something they can eat.”

But these kids don’t just pretend to be a farmer for a few minutes. They are making the important leap between what sprouts from the earth and what goes into their bodies. No, fresh tomatoes don’t come naturally wrapped in plastic. And a fresh tomato tastes better than one that was covered in pesticides, picked unripe, and shipped from several thousand miles away. A garden is more than just health and nutrition. It’s about math. It’s about science. It’s about art. It’s about relationships and how they can grow in a garden, too.

Rosemary Field, who launched the garden at Osborne Hill School with fellow parent Karen Bassett, said never underestimate the power of a seed. To her, it illustrates the circle of life.

“The teachers are excited to have the kids with their hands in the dirt,” she said. “It’s making a connection to where our food comes from. It’s an awakening.”

Osborne Hill planted their garden this past spring. While the plants flourished over the summer, the experience was not without its pitfalls. They started with a seed exchange. But the seeds didn’t work, so they had to reseed all the plants. Then, the pumpkins got infested with squash beetles. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the sunflowers grew so large and overshadowed the pumpkins to such an extent that they grew a fungus, wiping out what was left of the crop. But the sunflowers didn’t last either. Hurricane Irene whipped through and snapped them in half.

“It’s been a learning experience,” Field said.

Their trials and tribulations have not discouraged the garden committee at Osborne. They plan to grow their plants, which are in a narrow space on the left hand side of the building, vertically next season. They received a small grant to cover the cost of a butterfly garden, as well.

So how can the grant for gardening books improve an already thriving garden program? For Tack-Eckel, the more hands-on the garden experience is, the more effective the learning. For example, one of the books that every teacher will receive is a copy of Math in the Garden. Little ones can be taught counting while bigger kids can move on to concepts like area and perimeter. The books provide a fresh angle for teachers to approach the garden in ways they might not have considered.

“It’s an additional tool to help them teach and motivate students to learn,” she said. “We hope this is just the beginning. We’d love to see area schools create a coalition to share information.”

What many don’t realize is that an anonymous donor funded the grant that made this all possible. That donor felt strongly about kids making the link between gardens, healthy eating, and our environment. And, the link between them is now clicking with kids in every school.

But as McCabe explained, the school gardens will never be a finished project. They can always change and evolve with the curriculum. Ideas can be explored and tailor-made to fit an educational need. The first challenge was getting the gardens to exist. The grant was just one more step in a long, exhausting process.

“Perseverance pays off,” she said.

For more information about school lunch nutrition, visit Fuel for Learning Partnership on Facebook. To find out more about the philanthropic grant process, visit the Fairfield County Community Foundation web site.

Bring a friend to enjoy a free screening of the school lunch documentary, Two Angry Moms

WEDNESDAY, September 7

10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m.

Fairfield Public Library (downtown Fairfield) in the Rotary Room

HOW TO HELP YOUR KIDS EAT HEALTHIER

Local mom Amy Kalafa was shocked when she found out what was available to her child in the cafeteria at school. She set out on a mission to inform parents and school administrators in an effort to change her child’s options. The movie is an eye-opening look at this complex issue and the forces which make change so difficult.

Amy’s crusade to reform school lunch continues with her just released book, Lunch Wars: How to Start a School Food Revolution and Win the Battle for Our Children’s Health. An invaluable handbook for for better school food advocates, Lunch Wars is available at Amazon and wherever books are sold.

All programs at the Fairfield Public Library are open to the public and free of charge. For more information call 203-256-3160

www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org .

1080 Post Road, Fairfield, CT  06824

Follow the Library on Twitter: www.twitter.com/fairfieldpublib and Facebook: www.facebook.com/fairfieldlibrary.

Already seen the movie?  Please forward this invitation to your friends!

www.angrymoms.org
www.angrymoms.groupsite.com

Celebration at Wilton High School Organic Garden – Friday, May 20^th @ 3:30pm

Wilton, Connecticut – May 13, 2011 – The date is official, Jim Hunter and Kate Eckenrode, the Wilton High School teachers spearheading the garden this year, are pleased to announce the anticipated celebration of the Wilton High School Organic Garden. “We are so pleased to have this opportunity to thank Millstone Farm for all its expertise and assistance in getting the plants in the ground this year and to honor the support of Betsy and Jesse Fink for making it all happen. Jim Hunter, who envisioned the garden along with Betsy Fink and was instrumental in pushing it through noted, “it’s been a collaborative effort to make this happen. It is a positive, long-lasting project for the Town of Wilton.”

Jim was an early proponent of having a school garden, and with early seed funding from The Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation and student support he made this happen. Gathering funding was an early hurdle and the Fink’s also introduced the project to Newman’s Own Foundation that came through with critical funding. Millstone Farm worked with Jim to grow tomato plants for a fund drive this year and last year. The students worked tirelessly to make this happen and raised $1,600 in two afternoons at the Tomato Drive in 2010 and set up a tent with Millstone Farm at the Wilton Go Green Festival 2011 to raise funds to help with ongoing operating costs of the garden. Betsy Fink added “We believed deeply in this project and bringing a school garden to the Town of Wilton. This is a critical time for learning about food sources and building community-based activities. The benefits of the school garden will reach far beyond the halls of Wilton High School and bridge many local resources in the region to work together.”

Jim and Kate made this a true community effort with Millstone Farm lending expert advice; Snow’s Farm from Easton donated soil; and a local construction company, Tracy Castelli & Associates, donated time for construction prep. All of these groups understand the benefits of this addition to Wilton High School and the community as a whole.

First and foremost the organic garden will add depth and opportunity to the science curriculum, directly impacting all 9th grade biology students as well as environmental science courses, and courses in any subject that would like a short term project in the garden (such as Math, Art, Culinary etc…). In addition the Garden will:

•        Be a resource for Special Education year round.

•        Provide opportunities for high school students to work with students from the other schools.

•        Offer opportunities for departments within the school to develop curriculum together.

•        Provide chances for students to participate in independent studies.

•        Present opportunities to connect with community resources.

“This is a community project at the core,” said Jim Hunter. Besides connecting with Millstone Farm and other local farms and nature centers, the High School garden will intersect with Adult Education programs and garden clubs. Chartwells will be using a large percentage of the food in the high school cafeteria. More produce will be donated to different organizations in the community.  “What is extremely gratifying”, noted Betsy, “is that students, teachers and parents can use this garden to give back to the community in Wilton and surrounding towns.”

Everyone involved believes this is the beginning of a special program and place for the Wilton community.

New Haven schools Director of Food Services Chef Tim Cipriano is featured this week on the White House’s “Champions of Change” website in recognition of his successful effort to introduce healthy and locally produced food into city schools. Chef Tim is a participant in Chefs Move to Schools, an initiative of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign.

Cipriano was one of a group of chefs and nutritionists honored by the White House for improving school lunches. He traveled to Washington D.C. last week to accept the award and discuss school lunches with policymakers. While there, he wrote the blog post and recorded the video that appears this week on the Champions of Change website www.whitehouse.gov/champions.

“This is great honor,” Cipriano said. “I’m proud to represent New Haven and talk about the improvements we have made in school food. School food can be good food, and we have achieved that here in New Haven. We have proven that students will eat healthy, locally produced food.”

“Chef Tim more than deserves his award,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Reginald Mayo said. “He has done remarkable work transforming our food programs. Students must eat right to learn, and Chef Tim is making that happen.”

Under Cipriano New Haven schools have eliminated chicken nuggets and other highly processed foods, replacing them with minimally processed food that is locally grown when available.

Champions of Change is part of President Obama’s “Winning the Future Initiative.” Each week, Champions of Change features Americans, businesses or organizations who embody the initiative’s “Innovate, Educate and Build” motto.

A beautiful new magazine called Sustainable Connecticut has launched. This  special preview in the April issue of Connecticut Cottages & Gardens magazine (CTC&G) profiles local leaders of the sustainable food movement who are inspiring all of us to change. They are creating a wonderful ripple effect that can be felt throughout the state, and beyond. Perhaps you know some of them or they have touched your lives, or maybe even the food you eat.

Video from WTNH’s Good Morning Connecticut show introducing Sustainable Connecticut magazine on Saturday April 2 with Analiese Paik, Founder & Editor of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, and WTNH’s Steve Villanueva.

Sustainable Farmer Sustainable Connecticut magazine begins on page 49 of CTC&G with a beautiful photo of Master Farmer Annie Farrell of Millstone Farm in Wilton with one of their heritage breed hens.  Annie Farrell, the subject of the magazine’s cover story, has spent her life establishing sustainable farms and sharing her knowledge with others as a consultant. Millstone Farm was founded by Betsy and Jesse Fink and they hired Farrell to help them build “a sustainable farm whose mission it is to build a healthy local food system that enhances the natural and social environment” according to the article.

Betsy is an environmentalist and philanthropist and runs the 75-acre farm which has a small CSA and supplies the highest quality fresh produce to top farm-to-table restaurants including the Dressing Room and Le Farm in Westport, Schoolhouse at Cannondale in Wilton, the Boathouse at Saugatuck, and the Barcelona restaurant group. Millstone Farm regularly hosts teachers, students and educational events at the farm where participants can learn directly from Master Farmer Annie Farrell. If you’re a beginning gardener, don’t miss Millstone’s Backyard Workshop on April 16.

Farm-to-Table Chefs & Whole Animal Butcher In the Locavore column “Staying Hungry”, I interviewed a few chefs who are leaders in the farm-to-table movement to share their latest news with readers. James Beard award-winning chef and sustainable food pioneer Michel Nischan presented at TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” and was recently elected to Ashoka’s global fellowship of leading social entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries in recognition of his work at Wholesome Wave.

Bill Taibe, chef/owner of LeFarm restaurant in Westport and a James Beard Foundation award semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast is finalizing his restaurant’s green certification process and is planning a second restaurant. Alex Gunuey caters farm-to-school meals at the Friends School in Wilton and started Bone A Part to provide discerning canines with gourmet, locavore dog food.

Fairfield County is welcoming two new sustainable food businesses – Mario Batali’s  Tarry Lodge Enoteca Pizzeria is due to open early summer in Westport and Ryan Fibiger, a graduate of Fleischer’s Grass-Fed and Organic Meats in Kingston, NY, will be opening a sustainable butcher shop specializing in whole animal (aka nose-to-tail) butchery soon in either Westport or Fairfield. Naturally chef Gunuey will be buying trimmings from Fibiger for his dog food, thereby ensuring that no part of the animal goes to waste.

In “Spring Lettuce” author and farmer Bill Duesing encourages us to plant some lettuce soon since it’s an excellent early spring crop that likes cool weather. Duesing is Executive Director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (CT NOFA) and recommends planting every 2-3 weeks so gardeners can enjoy lettuce through October. CT-NOFA is not just for farmers (I’m a member!) so please take a look at their upcoming workshops and events-one might be just right for you.

“The Great School Food Makeover” spotlights the success of The Unquowa School in Fairfield in making over their lunch menu to feature locally sourced foods from sustainable family farms. John Turenne, who helped create Yale’s sustainable dining program, left the university to found Sustainable Food Systems and took on the school as his first client. The Unquowa School has embraced Alice Waters’ edible schoolyard philosophy by not only putting in a school garden, but also by partnering with Sport Hill Farm in Easton to offer a summer farm camp that teach kids from early on where their food comes from and how to plant, cultivate and harvest it. Campers prepare a farm fresh lunch with school chef Peter Gorman on Fridays from food they picked that morning.

Pick up the magazine at the usual drop sites for CTC&G or visit the web site for a digital copy at sustainablethemagazine.com.

Enjoy the hard work of our farmers by seeking out the bounty of Connecticut Grown this spring. Foods that are special to the season like Spring parsnips, early lettuces, and fresh goat’s milk cheeses are a treat.

Displayed on the Ch. 8 set are the following CT Grown foods purchased on closing day of the Westport Winter Farmers’ Market:

• Fresh Spring goat’s milk cheese (chevre) and yogurt from Beltane Farm
• Soft ripened goat’s milk cheese from Beltane Farm called Danse de la Lune
• Cow’s milk and yogurt from Ladies of Levita Road dairy farm
• Certified Organic kale, mesclun greens (mixed salad greens), and flowering tarragon from 2 Guys from Woodbridge farm
• Certified Organic Spring parsnips, carrots, heirloom tomato sauce and bread and butter pickles from Riverbank Farm
• Certified Organic mixed baby greens and spinach from Star Light Gardens farm
• Loin lamb chops and lamb Bolognese sauce from Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm

Please come back and let us know how you like Sustainable Connecticut magazine and what spring foods you’re enjoying now. Planting a garden? Share your garden photos with us on Facebook.

Fuel for Learning Partnership (FFLP), a PTA Council Standing Committee, will sponsor the second annual Food for Thought Expo with this year’s theme ‘Make Every Meal Count.’ Scheduled for Saturday, March 26^th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, the expo will take place at Fairfield Warde High School, in Fairfield, Connecticut.

The expo is free and open to the public and will feature cooking demonstrations, including an appearance at 11 am by Michel Nischan, owner and founder of Westport’s Dressing Room restaurant, President and CEO of Wholesome Wave Foundation, and author of the bestselling cookbooks Sustainably Delicious and Homegrown: Pure and Simple, as well as a wide variety of vendors ready to help area residents make the best possible choices in local produce, meats, groceries, and ready-made foods.

Cooking Demonstrations:

11 am  Michel Nischan, James Beard award-winning chef and author, presents  Nourishing Families

12 noon  Amie Guyette Hall,  cooking coach and owner of From Your Inside Out presents Super Simple, Family Friendly

1 pm  Sue Cadwell,  chef/owner Health in a Hurry presents Easy, Health Supportive Cuisine

2 pm  Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress from Big Girls, Small Kitchen present  Take-Out at Home

3 pm  Linda Soper Kolton,  chef/owner of GreenGourmettoGo, presents Make Desserts Count, Too!

Over thirty exhibitors will showcase their products and services that will help visitors make “every meal count.”  Events to be held throughout the day include movies, children’s activities, and cooking demonstrations using whole foods by Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress from Big Girls, Small Kitchen; Linda Soper-Kolton from Green Gourmet to Go; Sue Cadwell of Health in a Hurry; and Amie Hall, CHHC, AADP, of From Your Inside Out.  Participating businesses and organizations include Black Rock Farmstand, Borders Books, Fairfield Cheese Company, Fairfield Public Library, Farmer’s Cow, Sport Hill Farm, Stone Gardens Farm, CT Farm Fresh Express, Southport CSA, Project Hope Garden, Robek’s Juice, Wave Hill Breads, Jeff Borofsky’s Portable Pizza Oven, and the Fairfield Green Food Guide.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming back exhibitors from last year, as well as introducing visitors to new businesses” said Michelle McCabe, Chairperson of the Fuel for Learning Partnership. “This year’s theme, ‘Make Every Meal Count’, is inspired by the belief that every meal counts, either as a source of energy to contribute to a productive day at school or work, or a contribution to good health, or a way to support the environment, or way to support local farms, or a way to connect with family members.”

The FFLP encourages Fairfield County parents, students, teachers, food service staff, and Board of Education members to jointly pursue the common goal of serving safe, high quality, nutritional meals to the students of Fairfield.  FFLP seeks to affect positive change in how we eat by coming together as a community to broadly educate and change eating habits through the endorsement of sustainable eating practices.

The FFLP is hosting the  Food for Thought Expo: ‘Make Every Meal Count’ as part of an on-going effort to help educate people about how their approach to eating can overcome many of the health challenges our community faces today.  “We’re all on a journey toward changing the way we eat,” Ms. McCabe said.  “That comes with a learning curve, and our focus is to help people take ownership of their health, and the health of their children.”

By Analiese Paik

January is CSA registration month – your chance to buy local, organic food directly from the farmer who grows it. Spring/Summer 2011 CSA shares will be posted as they become available and can be found in a complete list on the CSA page.

Sport Hill Farm in Easton is expanding and has opened their shares to new CSA families. Pick up is on farm only, unless you participate in the Farm to Chef Connect option detailed below. Picking up your CSA share at the farm means you get to watch Patti pick your organic lettuces fresh so they don’t wilt and your kids get to see the chickens! Please  email farmer Patti Popp at farmgal596 at yahoo dot com and ask her to send you the CSA agreement. You may also be interested in her Crop Cash program. This is essentially a farm credit that allows you to stop by the farm during regular retail hours and buy produce, fruit, eggs, bread, honey and any additional local products she may offer without having to carry around cash. The deadline for registration is February 15, or when shares sell out.

A third and brand new program for 2011 is Farm to Chef Connect, a joint offering of Sport Hill Farm and organic, vegetarian restaurant Green Gourmet to Go. Farm to Chef Connect sign up is monthly, with a minimum of one month’s lead time (sign up May 1 for June 1 pick up). The weekly shares can be picked up on Thursdays at the farm or restaurant in Black Rock  and include produce from the farm and a quart of freshly prepared soup made from local, seasonal ingredients, plus a sweet treat made without refined sugars, flours or processed ingredients from the restaurant. Chef/owner Linda Soper-Kolton recently made news when she prepared a healthy meal at Holland Hill Elementary School as part of the Recipes for Healthy Kids Challenge sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture and First Lady Michelle Obama. Linda is a registered “Chefs Move to Schools” chef, an initiative that’s part of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign, and is dedicated to making healthy meals easy, approachable and delicious.

If you live in Ridgefield, you surely know that Dina Brewster’s USDA/Baystate certified organic farm, The Hickories, is the only farm left in Farmingville. When you hear Dina talk about her CSA families, it’s clear that building community gives her joy and satisfaction. Dina increased the number of CSA shares offered on farm last year to 200 so some families had a rare chance to get a share last summer. Please register directly on the site to join the waiting list. Both fruit and vegetable shares are offered including 113 varieties of vegetables plus strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples and peaches. Share add ons include bread, eggs, meat and locally produced cheese.

Fort Hill Farm in New Milford, a Baystate certified organic farm, has opened up their waiting list to new registrants. But don’t expect a share this summer. The waiting list is 3-4 years out for two reasons – farmer Paul Bucciaglia has no additional land to farm and his 400 CSA shareholders (500-600 families) are extremely loyal. This farm drops half its shares in lower Fairfield County (Darien, New Canaan, Fairfield, etc.) and the rest are picked up on farm. Each share box includes a newsletter containing instructions and recipes for preparing some of the 140 different kids of vegetables they grow. Please register to join the waiting list on the farm’s web site and be sure to choose a “box” if it’s going to be dropped or the “mix and match” option for an on farm share.

Related Posts:

Clatter Valley Farm CSA Offers 2011 Shares (1/15/11)

Dragongoose Farm CSA Offers Spring 2011 CSA (1/23/11)

Stoneledge Farm CSA Offers Spring/Summer 2011 Shares (1/26/11)

Gazy Brothers 4 Season CSA (1/27/11)

Stone Gardens Farm CSA (1/28/11)

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Wednesday evening’s screening of Nourish the film at Wilton Library kicked off an evening of lively moderated discussion about local and sustainably grown food with guest panelists Annie Farrell, Tim LaBant and Jim Hunter.

Every seat in the house was taken, a testament to the popularity of the topic and guest panelists and coordinated team effort in planning and organizing the event by the co-sponsors: Wilton Library, Wilton Go Green, Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm and Fairfield Green Food Guide.

About the Film:

Nourish is an educational film about the story of our food – food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish illustrates how food connects to such issues as biodiversity, climate change, public health, and social justice. Hosted and narrated by Cameron Diaz, Nourish features interviews with best-selling author Michael Pollan, sustainable food advocate Anna Lappe, eco-chef Bryant Terry, pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke, and organic farmer Nigel Walker. With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, Nourish traces our relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish the film was created by WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years’ experience in designing education and outreach programs, in order to deepen our national dialog about our food.

“Food is not just fuel. Food is about family, food is about community, food is about identity. And we nourish all those things when we eat well.”
— Michael Pollan from Nourish the film

Visit the web site and view the trailer.

About the Panelists:

Annie Farrell, Master Farmer, Millstone Farm.

Millstone Farm is owned by Betsy and Jesse Fink and is a for-profit working farm whose mission is to operate in a sustainable manner, both in economics and best farm practices. Millstone Farm is an important provider of high quality fresh produce to local families, restaurants and retailers. Annie Farrell, Betsy Fink and Millstone Farm are celebrated in a newly released and very beautiful cookbook, Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans, that was just named Best Cookbook Overall 2010 by Epicurious and will be featured on the Martha Stewart Show next Wednesday, November  24. Look for Betsy Fink and Annie Farrel in the audience.

In keeping with their goal to see local food production become the norm rather than the exception, Millstone Farm also serves as an educational outreach hub, supporting other farmers, community organizations, school groups and restaurateurs who are interested in learning more about the practice of sustainable agriculture, its implementation and its impact on local economies and food quality. The Millstone Farm Charitable Fund helps support philanthropic initiatives, such as school and community gardens and healthy food initiatives. Millstone Farm was recognized with a Green Coast Award at the Third Annual Green Faire at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa on the morning of this event.

Tim LaBant, Chef/Owner of the Schoolhouse at Cannondale.

Tim’s uncompromising commitment to serving the highest quality fresh, local, and seasonal food has won Schoolhouse numerous awards including a Top 10 Ranking on Open Table’s Best of the tri state area, Best Special Occasion restaurant 2010 by Westport Magazine, and the top Fairfield County Pick for the Best of New England 2010 guide. Much of the food on the menu is sourced from Millstone Farm and some is even picked by the chef himself.

Starting Dec. 9 Tim and his team will be serving lunch, along with other farm-to-table chefs, on rotating Thursdays at the indoor winter farmers’ market at Gilbertie’s in Westport from 10-1 pm.

Jim Hunter, Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher and founder of the organic edible school garden at Wilton High School

Jim has taught at Wilton High School for the past nine years and recently founded Wilton High School’s edible school garden, made possible through funding from Newman’s Own Foundation and funding and other support from The Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation and Millstone Farm. Jim spent years learning to garden organically from Annie Farrell and her time and expertise were key contributors to the project’s success.

The panel discussion lasted about an hour and we invited the audience to submit questions on question cards that were collected during the final 20 minutes of Q&A.

It was my great pleasure to serve as moderator for the guest panel and this was my introduction:

“We are delighted so many of you were able to join us tonight. I know you will leave feeling uplifted and inspired by our guest panelists Annie Farrell, Tim LaBant and Jim Hunter. As you listen to their stories, it will become evident that Wilton is indeed a very special place where people who care deeply about nourishing the community are working in concert with one another for the greater good.”

The following questions were presented to the panelists by the moderator and some of their answers can be read in the article Residents Encouraged to’Eat Local, Think Global’ by Kara O’Connor, a staff writer at the Wilton Villager who attended the event. A second article, Panel Promotes Farm Fresh Food, by Anthony Buzzeo at The Daily Wilton conveys a few additional thoughts. And my favorite is Film and Discussion at the Wilton Library Nourishes the Community by Audra Carbone of the Wilton Patch.

Panelist Questions:

Q1: The final chapter of the film encourages us to Be the Difference. Each of you IS the difference, working to transform the way we eat and nourish the community. Would you please tell us more about your work?

Q2: The film encourages us to Vote With Our Forks. What does that mean and what are some ways to do that here in Fairfield County?

Q3: Is being a conscious eater enough? Should we all be growing some of our own food and finding ways to support programs and initiatives working to transform the food system into something more sustainable, just and healthy?

The following audience questions were taken on cards and answered by Jim Hunter, Tim LaBant, and Annie Farrell, respectively.

Q1: Will gardens be put in the elementary and middle schools in Wilton?

Q2: What’s local in season November through April?

Q3: What workshops and programs are offered at Millstone Farm, how do you find out about them, and how do we encourage more people to grow in their own backyards?

Many thanks to Tim LaBant and Schoolhouse Restaurant for the delicious cassoulet, Wave Hill Bread for the bread used in the dish, and Vintage Fine Wines of Wilton for their support with the wines. A red and a white wine were served, a 2008 Bonterrra Vineyards Chardonnay and 2006 Lolonis Cabernet, both California wines made from 100% organic grapes.

Guests enjoyed the food and wine during the networking event that followed with panelists and exhibitors Wilton Go Green, Millstone Farm, Fairfield Green Food Guide, Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm, and Ambler Farm.

Thank you to the many guests who supported the library through donations and purchased DVDs from the non-profit Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm to share with their family, friends, businesses, school and organizations. Many thanks to the Fairfield Organic Teaching Farm for their sponsorship of the Nourish screening.

(from the web site)

Nourish is a multi-year media and education initiative. The purpose of Nourish is to open a broad public conversation about our food system that encourages citizen engagement, particularly among young people and families. To inform and inspire, Nourish combines television programming, short films, web content, and learning tools. With a distinctly positive vision, Nourish celebrates both food and community.

Nourish is a project of WorldLink, an Emmy Award-winning media group with twenty years experience in designing education and outreach programs. To maximize the effectiveness of Nourish, WorldLink is collaborating with more than 40 organizations dedicated to creating a sustainable food future.